Means for supplying comminuted fuel to furnaces.



J R. MAGARVEY, W. DALTON & C. L. HEISLER. MEANS FOR SUPPLYING COMMINUTEDFUEL T0 FURNACES.

APPLICATION HLED JUNE 8,1914. 1,l'??,045. Patented Mar. 28, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- INV EN TORD'.

Patented Mar. 28, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

NVENT [/Z/ @fififimna 5 M9 M 3m Rn m u F J. R. MAGARVEY, W. DALTON & C.L. HEISLER. MEANS FOR SIUPPLYING COMMINUTED FUEL T0 FURNACES.APPLICATION FILED JUNE 8, 1914.

JOHN R. MAGARVEY, WILLIAM DALTON, AND CHARLES L. HEISLER, 0FSCHENECTAZDY,

NEW YORK.

MEANS FOR SUPPLYING COMMINT ITED FUEL T0 FURNACES.

mamas.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that we, JOHN R. MAGARVEY, WILLIAM DALTON, and CHARLES L.HEISLER, all of Schenectady, in the county of Schenectady and State ofNew York, have jointly invented a certain new and useful Improvement inMeans for Supplying .Comminuted Fuel to Furnaces, of which improvementthe following is a specification.

Our invention relates to the storage, pneumatic conveyance, and feedingto one or more furnace chambers, of fuel in a comminuted condition, andits object is to provide means whereby fuel which is comminuted in acentrally located pulverizing apparatus may be conveyed therefrom, anddistributed, without waste or escape of dust,

- to a plurality of feeding hoppers located adminuted condition isdeliv'ered'from a car,

acent to furnaces in different portions of a large manufacturing plant.

The improvement claimed is hereinafter fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a View, partly in elevationand partlyin vertical longitudinal central section, of a pulverizingmill designed for the practice of our invention; Fig. 2, a transversesection through the same, on the line a a of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a View inelevation of a battery of boilers to which our invention is applied;Fig. 4, a vertical section on the line b b of Fig. 3; and, Fig. 5, aplan or top view.

The fuel which is to be burned in a com- 1, running on a railroad track,2, to a receiving hopper, 3*, located adjacent to one end of a millbuilding, 3, in which there are installed crushing, pulverizing andstoring appliances of substantially the following construction. The fueldrops from the receiving hopper into a crusher,- l, which may be of anysuitable and preferred known construction, and which, as it does not, inand of itself, form part of our present invention, is herein onlydiagrammatically indicated. The fuel, after having been broken, by thecrusher, into lumps of comparatively small size, is lifted therefrom andcarried to the top of the mill building by an elevator, 5, whichdeposits it in a 'pair of preliminary storage hoppers, 6, from which itdrops, by gravity, into two rotary driers, 7, disposed adjacent toopposite sides of the mill, in which, in order to prevent interruption,there are installed two duplicate sets of dry- Specification of LettersPatent.

are discharged through the Patented Mar. 28, 1916.

Application filed June 8, 1914. Serial No. 843,682.

ing and grinding appliances, the descrip' tion of one of which willapply to both.

A small heating furnace, 8, is located in the mill building, at-a levelbelow that of the drier, and is connected therewith by a fine, 10. Afterpassing through and returning from the drier, the smoke, and any dustthat may have collected from the drier rise upward through the flue, 10and enter the air and fuel cyclone separator, 11, wherein the dust isprecipitated, and thence passes, through the conduits, 11 to the fuelpulverizers, 12. The waste gases of combustion stack, 10", whichprojects above the top of the mill building. The crushedand dried fuelis discharged from the lower ends of the driers, 7, into the crushedfuel storage hoppers, 13, from which it is carried by screw conveyers,14, to the fuel pulverizers, 12. The latter may be of any suitableandpreferred construction, many of which are known in the art,

and are driven by belts, 15, from motors, 16.

An air compressor, 17, adapted to deliver air at a pressure of about 75pounds per square inch, is connected by pipes, 19, controlled by valves,20, with the tops of two or more fuel storage and blowing chambers, 18,a plurality of chambers being provided to insure continuous operation,which is attained by making the chambers, 18, of sufiicient volume toenable fuel to be ground and stored in one of them, blown out of theother. are connected with the pulverizer, 12, by conduits, 21, in whichare fitted screw conveyers, 22, which .are rotated, through a gear, 21*,in' direction to carry pulverized fuel from the pulverizer to thechambers, 18,

The chambers, 18,

and the discharge ends of the conduits, .within the chambers, 18, arecontrolled by obvious that additional pairs of fuel blowing chambers maybe provided, if desired.

while fuel is being,

Pulverized fuel pneumatic conveying pipes, 24, extend outwardly fro-mthe mill, 3, to any desired points in a manufacturing plant, said pipesprojecting into the chambers, 18, and terminating, by open lower ends,near the bottoms of said chambers. Sleeves, 25, surround the pipes, 24,within the chambers, and are vertically movable therein by pinions, 25,engaging racks on the sleeves and manually actuated by hand wheels, 25.Annular air passages are formed around the pipes, 24, by the sleeves,25, and when either sleeve is in its lowest position, as shown in theright hand chamber, 18, in Fig. 1, the flow of pulverized fuel to theopen bottom end of the pipe, 24, is cut off, and air admitted from thecompressor by opening the valve, 20, controlling the pipe, 19, leadingto the chamber, would have free passage into the blowing chamber,through the annular space around the pipe, 24, and thence upwardly intosaid pipe,

thereby enabling the pipe to be cleaned out.

without disturbing the pulverized fuel in the chamber. By lifting thesleeve, 25, to the position shown in the left hand blowing chamber, 18,and opening the valve, 20, controlling the admission of compressed airto said chamber, pulverized fuel will flow into the open lower end ofthe pneumatic conveying pipe, 24, thereof, and will be jetted upwardlytherein by the air which enters the annular space between said pipe andits surrounding sleeve, 25. The operation will be the same if suction isapplied to the outer or delivery end of the pipe, 24, instead ofadmitting air from the compressor, under which conditions air will flowfrom the atmosphere into the chamber, past the flap check valve, 26,which is shown open, in dotted lines, in Fig. 1. It will therefore beseen that pulverized fuel may be conveyed through either of the pipes,24, either by pressure from the air compressor, 17 or by suction or apartial vacuum induced by a fan, 34, which is shown in Figs. 3, 4, and5, as connected to the delivery end of one of the pipes, 24.

The pneumatic conveying pipes, 24, when extending for a considerabledistance from the mill, 3, may, from time to time, become clogged, andfor the purpose of relieving them from any accumulation of pulverizedfuel, we provide for the admission of air under pressure at differentpoints, and clearing out sections of the pipes, 24, by means of asupplemental clearing pipe, 30, of smaller diameter, which is connectedto the compressor, 17, and controlled by a valve, 30. Station by-passvalves, 30", are fitted in connections disposed at intervals along thepipes, 30, and 24, to provide convenient means for admitting air fromthe former to the latter. Branch pneumatic conveying pipes, 24, may beconnected with the pipes,

24, when it is desired to provide additional outlets, the branch pipesbeing governed by gate valves, 24", and their discharge outlets by gatevalves, 24.

The discharge end of one of the pipes, 24, is shown, in Figs. 3, 4, and5, as connected to a cyclone separating chamber, 31, and the dischargeend of another pipe, 24, to the suction fan, 34, before specified. Thefan, 34, is also shown as discharging, by the conduit, 33, into thecyclone separating chamber, 31, and'is driven by a motor, 36, which iscoupled to a larger fan, 37, and also drives a pair of intermeshinggears, 38, secured on the shafts of a pair of screw con veyers, 40,which rotate in opposite directions in, and distribute pulverized fuelthrough, horizontal cylindrical feed hoppers, 31", which project, inopposite directions, from the cyclone separating chamber, 31, andcommunicate with a plurality of feed valves, 41, rotated by a shaft, 41,

which is actuated by the shaft of one of the gears, 38.

The casings of the feed valves, 41, are connected by fuel feed pipes,42, with low pressure air blast burner pipes, 43, near the dischargeends of the latter in furnaces, 44, forming part of boiler settings, 45,of any of the well known types. burn r pipes is connected with amanifold, 46, o which air is supplied from the fan, 37 ,fthroughconduits, 47. The suction side of -the fan is connected by a conduit,50, governed by a valve, 50, with the top outlet of the cycloneseparating chamber, 31. The fan is also provided with a supplementalsuction air inlet, 51, controlled by a valve, 51. Any desired number ofseparating chambers, 52, of known construction, may be connected withthe fan, 37 by conduits, 52, controlled by valves, 52*, therebypreventing any escape of dust from the separating chambers, anddischarging it through the conduits, fan, manifolds, and burner pipesinto the furnaces. Any of the separating chambers may be connected by aconduit, 53, with a feed box, 54, connected to a furnace, 44*, by aburner pipe, 43, to which air from any available source may be suppliedthrough a conduit, 43".

The detailed construction of the furnaces to which pulverized fuel issupplied by our invention as hereinbefore described, and the burners andother accessories thereof may be of any of the many well known typesknown in the art, and as they do not form part of our present invention,they are not herein at length set forth.

We claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. Inan apparatus for supplying comminuted fuel to furnaces, the combinationof a drier, means to supply fuel thereto, a pulverizer to receive thefuel from the drier,

Each set of blast a dust collector connected to the drier and also tothe pulverizer, a fuel storage and blowing chamber to receive the fuelfrom the pulverizer, a separator, a conduit con-v necting said chamberand separator, means to cause a current of air to flow through saidconduit, means to convey the fuel from said separator into a furnaceinlet, and means to cause a current of air to flow from said separatorinto said inlet.

2. In an apparatus for supplying comminuted fuel to furnaces, thecombination with means for drying and pulverizing fuel, of a chamber in.which the pulverized fuel is received, means to force air into saidchamber, a fuel discharge pipe from said chamber having its inlet endnear the bottom thereof, a sleeve surrounding said pipe within saidchamber to form an annular air passage from the upper part of saidchamber to the inlet end of said pipe, means for moving said sleevelongitudinally of said pipe so as to prevent the fuel from entering thelatter while permitting the air to do so, and means to convey the fuelfrom said pipe into a furnace.

3. In an apparatus for supplying comminuted fuel to furnaces, thecombination with a fuel drier-and pulverizer, of a plurality of chambersto receive the fuel therefrom, means to admit air into said chambers andto prevent its escape therefrom into the pulverizer or atmosphere, afuel discharge pipe leading from each chamber to a furnace, means ineach chamber to prevent the fuel from entering said pipe whet so desiredwhile permitting the air to do so, and means to cause an outward flow ofair through said pipe.

4. In an apparatus for supplying comminuted fuel to furnaces, thecombination with a conduit for the fuel and means to cause a current ofair to flow therethrough of a separator into which said conduit leads, aplurality of furnace inlets, a conveyor to receive the fuel from saidseparator and distribute it to said inlets, a blower connected to saidseparator and also to said inlets, secondary separators connected tosaid conduit and also to said blower, and means to prevent the fuel fromentering said conduit while maintaining the air current therein.

5. In an apparatus for supplying comminuted fuel to furnaces, thecombination of a fuel hopper, an inclined rotary drier to receive thefuel from said hopper, a fuel storage and blowing chamber to receive thefuel from said drier, a'dust separator connected to said drier and alsoto said chamher, a fuel discharge pipe leading from the lower part ofsaid chamber, means to cause a current of air to flow outwardly throughsaid pipe, means to prevent the fuel in said chamber from entering saidpipe when desired while still permitting the air to flow therethrough, aseparator into which said pipe leads, a plurality of furnace inlets, aconveyer to receive the fuel from said separator and distribute it tosaid inlets, and a blower t Withdraw air from said separator and forceit into said inlets.

JOHN R. MAGARVEY. WILLIAM DALTON. CHARLES L. HEISLER.

Witnesses:

W. S. FRAME, E. J. APPS.

